Javy here. It’s been a little over a year since The Interactive Fiction fund was created. The goal? To promote works of folks who wanted to make interactive fiction and to pay them for it. In that regard, I think the IFF was a success. It funded several works of interactive fiction by both established folks and up and coming writers.

Sadly, I must announce the IFF is closing. This is due to a number of factors:

1. With a new job and a handful of creative projects I’m working on right now, I don’t have the free time to devote to the IFF.

2. The Patreon hack last year exposed the fund’s supporters’ (thankfully encrypted) personal information, which is not fair to people who just wanted to support the continued existence of a creative form. The project understandably lost a few supporters after that and I just don’t have much faith in Patreon after the hack, not enough to ask people to continue to support the fund via that platform.

3. I could not find someone to take over the fund. This is understandable. It’s not an easy gig and it requires a lot of planning and time with no material reward.

4. There was a noticeable drop in pitches during the later months of last year.

5. With the various forms of interactive fiction popping up every week or so, I feel as though the need for the IFF isn’t particularly strong. People are making interesting interactive fiction everyday and more outlets are giving these works attention.

So, a little bit of a bummer, sure, but hey, the fund helped bring some cool pieces into existence and on the whole, interactive fiction is in a pretty good place overall.

However, this leaves some housekeeping. After some deliberation, I’ve decided that the leftover funds from the IFF will go to Tory Hoke and their interactive fiction project, Sub-Q, a zine that has the same end goal the IFF had: pay interactive fiction writers. I’m retaining $18 of the leftover funds to put toward the hosting for this site so that the gallery of creators’ works will be available at this location for at least another two years.

If you have any questions, feel free to shoot an email to iffeditors@gmail.com and be sure to keep an eye on Sub-Q if you’re interested in the growth of interactive fiction.

We’re accepting pitches for October until September 28th. There are two criteria for judging pitches editors will use when deciding what piece(s) will be commissioned.

1. How interesting is the idea?

2. How feasible is it to produce this idea within a month?

Your pitch should be straightforward. Sell us on your idea and then make us believe you can pull it off by telling us a bit about you. Tell us about your experience with IF or why this story means something to you. If you have a 1-2 page preview of the project you’re proposing, you can include it, but nothing longer than that.

Email your pitches to editorsIFF@gmail.com Pay is $50 for an accepted pitch that leads to a creation delivered by the deadline. The creator keeps the rights to their work and can do as they wish with it. They can sell it on an online marketplace or release it free on the internet. Patreon supporters get the game earlier than anyone else.

FAQ about pitches:

Q: What genres are off limits?

A: None. If your idea is interesting to the guest editor and I, it will be taken into consideration no matter the genre. Want to write an epic fantasy? Cool, tell us about it. A personal story that makes great use of the IF format? We want to hear about it.

Q: Are works limited to a particular format and engine, like text and Twine?

A: No. You can submit pitches for games to be made with development programs other than Twine. Text parser games, games made with RPG maker, and the like are all encouraged. Again, the prevailing criteria here: (1) Is the idea interesting? and (2) can the creator pull it off within a month?

Q: Are implementing sounds and visuals into my IF creation allowed?

A: Sure. Go for it.

Guest Editor Guidelines

Each month we’ll have a new guest editor so that it’s not just me (Javy, hi, that’s me) picking submissions. Guest editors will be someone who has had some experience either writing IF or writing about IF. If this is you and you want to be a guest editor one month, send me an email: JavyIFF@gmail.com.

Pay for guest editor is $20.

Note: If you wish to make a one time donation to IFF instead of donating via Patreon, you can do so here.